14. "Not Pa' Ella" at Anepalco

We're reaching the end of 100 Favorite Dishes countdown! Every day until the publication of our fantabulous Best Of Issue, we'll list our favorite meals this year in descending order. Enjoy, pass it on, and tune in daily!

"Not Pa' Ella" is a silly play on words that means both "not for her" (though women are, of course, encouraged to order it) and "not paella". And it isn't; like most things. It's a jumble of seafood and Jidori chicken atop a round of creamy rice floating in a pool of velouté. Though it's a mass of textures and sizes, each piece is cooked exactly as it should be; the rice barely supports the meat's weight in its lightness, and there's exactly enough velouté for one surreptitious last swipe with the fork at the end.

The only thing missing is the socarrat, the crust that forms on the bottom of the paella as it heats over the vine-clipping fire.